Floor plan modification of the upper floor of a timber-framed house for more light

Hello everyone,

we are currently looking at a half-timbered house. Upstairs, we are not really satisfied with the floor plan and the lighting. Before buying, we want to develop an idea of what can be done there and then check how much this might cost us.

Attached is the floor plan.

We would like to turn the rooms Studio, Guest, Work, and part of the hallway into two equivalent and usable rooms.

Guest and Work themselves are very small but each has (partly) a dormer. The Studio itself is okay in size, but with 3 tiny windows facing exactly north, it is extremely dark.

The bedroom has four tiny windows facing south. More light would also be desirable here.

Additionally, you should know that we would renew the bathroom (remove all fixtures, install new white ones, walls and floors renewed and tiled where wet).

The roof is not really in good shape anymore, insulation thickening and re-roofing are already included in the cost plan.

Any great and creative ideas are gratefully accepted:
1. Floor plan idea for 2 new
equal rooms
2. Improvement of lighting conditions in the 2 new rooms
3. Improvement of lighting conditions in the bedroom

Thanks,
Dirk

Take along an expert appraiser/architect experienced in timber framing, analyze floor plan relationships + basic construction, have a preliminary design created, possibly with official coordination (monument protection?), cost estimation. If you want to install larger windows, you generally should not look for a timber-framed house, as the window size is limited by the timber frame construction and can only be changed to a limited extent. Installing roof windows may be recommended here. Before purchase, the entire property should be examined in detail, as the interior walls have almost certainly been straightened with gypsum board cladding, which usually does not mean a timber-frame-appropriate construction. If there is still exposed timber framing, special attention must be paid to checking for moisture damage in the construction, especially on the wind-driven rain side. The whole building is somewhat too perfectly superficially renovated for a timber-framed house. Careful inspection is required.